Selective one-motion door opening mechanism for door latch of vehicle

ABSTRACT

The present selective type one-motion door opening mechanism comprises a ratchet lever ( 32 ) for opening a vehicle door, an open lever ( 22 ) displaceable by an outside open handle ( 25 ), a lock lever ( 23 ) displaceable between an unlocked position (U) in which a displacement of the open lever is transmitted to the ratchet lever and an locked position (L) in which the displacement of the open lever is not transmitted to the ratchet lever, a sub-lever ( 35 ) being rotated by an inside open handle ( 19 ), and a selector pin ( 41 ) displaceable between an effective position (X) and to a ineffective position (Y). The rotation of the ratchet lever returns the lock lever to the unlocked position. The selector pin at the effective position transmits the rotation of the sub-lever to the ratchet lever, and selector pin at the ineffective position transmits the rotation of the sub-lever to the open lever.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a vehicle door latch device, and moreparticularly, it relates to a one-motion door opening mechanism for avehicle door latch device.

BACKGROUND ART

In general, in the prevailing vehicle door latch device used hitherto,when a lock mechanism is in a locked state, a door is not opened by adoor opening operation of an open handle. However, in the door latchdevice added with the one-motion door opening mechanism, even when thelock mechanism is in the locked state, a return to an unlocked state ofthe lock mechanism and an opening of the door are almost simultaneouslyperformed by the door opening operation of an inside open handle.

The one-motion mechanism is a very convenient mechanism. However, sincethe one-motion mechanism makes it possible to release the locked stateand open the door by the operation of the inside open handle, it isgenerally adopted only to the door latch device of the driver's door.

The one-motion mechanism is a mechanism closely related to anothermechanism of the door latch device, and is designed with anothermechanism at the same time. Hence, it has been practically impossible toadd the one-motion door opening mechanism to the door latch devicehaving no one-motion mechanisms at a later time.

Because of the described reason above, heretofore, the door for otherthan the driver's seat has been unable to enjoy the convenience of theone-motion door opening mechanism.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide aone-motion door opening mechanism which can be switched over to aneffective state and an ineffective state. A door latch device comprisingsuch a one-motion door opening mechanism can be adopted to all thedoors, and if safety is ensured at the user's responsibility, almost allpeople can enjoy the convenience of the one-motion door openingmechanism.

Moreover, it is another object of the present invention to provide aclutch mechanism, which can invalidate the one-motion door openingmechanism while running. A serious accident due to misuse of theone-motion door opening mechanism can be prevented substantially by theemployment of this clutch mechanism.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of a latch unit according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the latch unit;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the latch unit;

FIG. 4 is a rear view of an open lever of the latch unit;

FIG. 5 is a rear view of a lock lever of the latch unit;

FIG. 6 is a rear view of a lock link of the latch unit;

FIG. 7 is a rear view of a ratchet lever of the latch unit;

FIG. 8 is a rear view of a sub-lever of the latch unit;

FIG. 9 is a rear view of a switch lever of the latch unit;

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the lock leveris in an unlocked position and a one-motion door opening mechanism is inan effective state;

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the lock leveris at a locked position and the one-motion door opening mechanism is inthe effective state;

FIG. 12 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the lock leveris in the unlocked position and the one-motion door opening mechanism isin an ineffective state;

FIG. 13 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the lock leveris in the locked position and the one-motion door opening mechanism isin the ineffective state;

FIG. 14 is a schematic view showing a relation among an inside openhandle, an inner lever and a clutch mechanism;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view showing a mechanical mechanism of the clutchmechanism; and

FIG. 16 is a block circuit diagram of the clutch mechanism.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

One embodiment of a vehicle door latch device according to the presentinvention will be described based on the drawings. The door latch devicecomprises a latch unit 1 mounted on a door (not shown) and a striker 2fixed to a vehicle body (not shown). The latch unit 1 comprises a latch3 which engages with the striker 2 when the door is closed, and aratchet 4 which maintains the engagement between the latch 3 and thestriker 2. The latch 3 is rotatably supported by a latch shaft 7 withina concave portion 6 formed on the surface of a latch body 5 made ofsynthetic resin, and the ratchet 4 is rotatably supported by a ratchetshaft 8 within the concave portion 6.

The latch 3 is urged in a clockwise direction by the elastic force of aspring 9 in FIG. 1, and the ratchet 4 is urged in a counterclockwisedirection by the elastic force of a ratchet spring 10. The latch 3 ofFIG. 1 is returned to an unlatched position (door-open position) by theelastic force of the latch spring 9. When the door is moved toward adoor-closed position, the striker 2 advances into a horizontal passage11 formed on the latch body 5 and abuts against a U-shaped groove 12 ofthe latch 3 to rotate the latch 3 counterclockwise. When the latch 3 isrotated up to a half-latched position, the ratchet 4 is engaged with afirst step 13 of the latch 3 and the door reaches a half-closedposition, and when the latch 3 comes to a full-latched position, theratchet 4 is engaged with a second step 14 of the latch 3 and the dooris maintained at a full-closed position.

The ratchet 4 comprises a ratchet pin 16 which projects to the rear sideof the latch body 5 through an opening 15 of the latch body 5. To thefront surface of the latch body 5, a metal cover plate 17 forpractically covering the recess 6 is fixed. The cover plate 17 is shownpartially in FIG. 1.

A metal back plate 18 shown in FIG. 2 is fixed on a rear surface of thelatch body 5. The back plate 18 is provided integrally with a bent plate18A which is angled to extend backward from the interior side of theside. An inner lever 21 is pivotally provided on the bent plate 18A, asshown in FIG. 3, and the inner lever 21 is connected to the inside openhandle 19 (FIG. 2) of the door through a wire or a rod 20 and the like.

The latch unit 1 comprises an open lever 22 (FIG. 4) which allows thedoor to open by disengaging the ratchet 4 from the latch 3, and a locklever 23 (FIG. 5) which switches the latch unit 1 to a locked state andan unlocked state. The open lever 22 is rotatably mounted on the rearside of the latch body 5 by the ratchet shaft 8. The exterior sideportion of the open lever 22 is connected to one end of a rod 26connected to the outside open handle 25 of the door with a lost-motion.The lock lever 23 is rotatably mounted on the latch body 5 or the backplate 18 by the lock shaft 24. A connection hole 27 is formed on theinterior side portion of the lock lever 23.

Between the lock lever 23 and the open lever 22, a lock link 28 (FIG. 6)is provided. The lock link 28 comprises a lock pin 30 which is slidablyengaged with a slot 29 formed on the open lever 22. The lower end of thelock link 28 is connected to the lock lever 23 by a shaft 31.

A ratchet lever 32 (FIG. 7) is pivotally mounted on the ratchet shaft 8.The ratchet lever 32 is located between the latch body 5 and the openlever 22. An outer arm 32A of the ratchet lever 32 extending to theexterior side is engaged with the ratchet pin 16 which extends backwardfrom the ratchet 4, and this allows the ratchet lever 32 to integrallyrotate with the ratchet 4.

The connection hole 27 of the lock lever 23 is connected to a rod 34reaching an inside lock button 33 of the door, and the lock lever 23 isswitched over, as is known, to an unlocked position U (FIG. 10) and alocked position L (FIG. 11) by the operation of the inside lock button33. When the lock lever 23 is in the unlocked position U as shown inFIG. 10, the lock pin 30 engageably confronts an inverted L-shapedabutting arm 32B of the ratchet lever 32. When the open lever 22 isrotated counterclockwise in the unlocked state by the operation of theopen handle 25, the lock pin 30 abuts against the abutting arm 32B torotate the ratchet lever 32 counterclockwise, and this allows the doorto be opened.

In FIG. 10, when the lock lever 23 is rotated clockwise toward thelocked position L, the lock link 28 moves upward within the slot 29 and,as shown in FIG. 11, the confronting state between the lock pin 30 andthe abutting arm 32B is released. In this locked state, even when theopen lever 22 is rotated counterclockwise by the outside open handle 25,it is not possible to rotate the ratchet lever 32, and this does notallow the door to be opened.

The lock link 28 comprises a protruding portion 42 extending toward anunder surface 32C of the outer arm 32A of the ratchet lever 32. Theprotruding portion 42 is located in the vicinity of the under surface32C in the locked state of FIG. 11.

A sub-lever 35 (FIG. 8) is pivotally mounted on the ratchet shaft 8. Thesub-lever 35 is located at the rear side of the open lever 22. An innerarm 35A of the sub-lever 35 extending to the interior side is located ona rotating trajectory of the inner lever 21.

The sub-lever 35 is provided with a long hole 36 extending to an almostradial direction of the ratchet shaft 8. The open lever 22 is provided,as shown in FIG. 4, with an engaging groove 37. The engaging groove 37comprises a circular arc slot 38 with the ratchet shaft 8 as a centerand a radial slot 39 extending to the almost radial direction of theratchet shaft 8 from the central portion of the circular arc slot 38.The ratchet lever 32 has an engaging concave portion 40.

A selector pin 41 extending back and forth is located in the long hole36 of the sub-lever 35. The selector pin 41 is mounted on the long hole36 by being slid to the right side after being inserted into the largediameter portion of the left end of the long hole 36. The selector pin41 is rotated about the ratchet shaft 8 as a center in response to therotation of the sub-lever 35. The front end of the selector pin 41penetrates into the engaging groove 37 of the open lever 22 andprotrudes in front of the open lever 22. The selector pin 41 switchesthe one-motion door opening mechanism described below to an effectivestate and an ineffective state by sliding between an effective positionX and an ineffective position Y within the long hole 36.

When the selector pin 41 is in the left side effective position X withinthe long hole 36, the selector pin 41 is located within the circular arcslot 38 of the open lever 22 and, at the same time, engages with theengaging concave portion 40 of the ratchet lever 32. Hence, therotational movement of the sub-lever 35 in the effective state is nottransmitted to the open lever 22, but is transmitted to the ratchetlever 32 through the selector pin 41. In other words, the selector pin41 of the effective position X integrally connects the sub-lever 35 andthe ratchet lever 32.

FIG. 10 shows a state in which the lock lever 23 is in the unlockedposition U and the selector pin 41 is in the effective position X. Inthis state, when the inner lever 21 is rotated by the door openingoperation of the inside open handle 19, the inner lever 21 abuts againstthe sub-lever 35, and the rotation of the sub-lever 35 is transmitted tothe ratchet lever 32 through the selector pin 41, and thereby theratchet 4 is rotated to be disengaged from the latch 3 through theratchet pin 16, and this allows the door to be opened.

FIG. 11 shows a state in which the lock lever 23 is in the lockedposition L and the selector pin 41 is in the effective position X. Inthis state, when the inner lever 21 is rotated by the door openingoperation of the inside open handle 19, the inner lever 21 abuts againstthe sub-lever 35, and the rotation of the sub-lever 35 is transmitted tothe ratchet lever 32 through the selector pin 41. Then, the undersurface 32C of the ratchet lever 32 abuts against the protruding portion42 of the lock link 28 to move the lock link 28 downward and allows thelock lever 23 to return to the unlocked position U from the lockedposition L. At the same time, the ratchet lever 32 rotates the ratchet 4through the ratchet pin 16 to release the ratchet 4 from the latch 3,and this allows the door to be opened. In this way, when the selectorpin 41 is in the effective position X, even when the lock lever is inthe locked state, it is possible to release the locked state and openthe door by the door opening operation of the inside open handle 19.This mechanism becomes the one-motion door opening mechanism by theinside open handle 19.

Note that, when the selector pin 41 is in the effective position X,since the selector pin 41 is located within the circular arc slot 38 ofthe open lever 22, the rotation of the sub-lever 35 is not transmittedto the open lever 22, nor is the rotation of the open lever 22transmitted to the sub-lever 35.

When the selector pin 41 is slid to the right side ineffective positionY within the long hole 36 of the sub-lever 35, the selector pin 41 isdisengaged from the engaging concave portion 40 of the ratchet lever 32and, at the same time, is displaced to a radial slot 39 from thecircular arc slot 38 of the open lever 22. Hence, the rotationalmovement of the sub-lever 35 in the ineffective state is not transmittedto the ratchet lever 32, but is transmitted to the open lever 22 throughthe selector pin 41. In other words, the selector pin 41 of theineffective position Y integrally connects the sub-lever 35 and the openlever 22.

FIG. 12 shows a state in which the lock lever 23 is in the unlockedposition U and the selector pin 41 is in the ineffective position Y. Inthis state, when the inner lever 21 is rotated by the door openingoperation of the inside open handle 19, the inner lever 21 abuts againstthe sub-lever 35 to move the selector pin 41 upward. The upward movementof the selector pin 41 of the ineffective position Y does not rotate theratchet lever 32 directly, but rotates the open lever 22counterclockwise. When the open lever 22 rotates counterclockwise, thelock pin 30 abuts against the abutting arm 32B to rotate the ratchetlever 32 counterclockwise, and this allows the door to be opened.

FIG. 13 shows a state in which the lock lever 23 is in the lockedposition L and the selector pin 41 is in the ineffective position Y. Inthis state, when the inner lever 21 is rotated by the door openingoperation of the inside open handle 19, the inner lever 21 abuts againstthe sub-lever 35 to move the selector pin 41 upward. The upward movementof the selector pin 41 of the ineffective position Y does not rotate theratchet lever 32 directly, but rotates the open lever 22counterclockwise. However, in the locked state, even when the open lever22 rotates counterclockwise, since the lock pin 30 is unable to abutagainst the abutting arm 32B, this does not allow the door to be opened.In this way, when the selector pin 41 is in the ineffective position Y,the one-motion door opening mechanism is invalidated.

As shown in FIG. 2, a sub-plate 43 is mounted on the rear side of thelatch unit 1. A switch lever 44 (FIG. 9) is pivotally mounted on thesub-plate 43 by a shaft 48. An upper arm 45 of the switch lever 44 isprovided with an engaging window 46 with which the rear end portion ofthe selector pin 41 is engaged. The tip end of an operation arm 47 ofthe switch lever 44 is extended to the interior side to penetrate into ametal panel of the door, and is protruded outside of the door. Theswitch lever 44 is rotated by the operation of the operation arm 47 andthe switch lever 44 displaces the selector pin 41 between the effectiveposition X and the ineffective position Y.

Between the inner lever 21 and the inside open handle 19, as shown inFIG. 14, there is provided a clutch mechanism 50. The mechanical portionof the clutch mechanism 50 is housed inside a case 51. The case 51 isformed small so as to be housed within the door. Within the case 51, aninput side lever 52 and an output side lever 53 are slidably housed. Theinput side lever 52 is connected to the inside open handle 19 by aninput side wire 20A of the wire 20, and the output side lever 53 isconnected to the inner lever 21 by an output side wire 20B of the wire20. Within the case 51, a clutch pin 55 driven by an actuator 54 such asan electromagnetic coil and the like is provided. The clutch pin 55connects the input side lever 52 and the output side lever 53 when theactuator 54 is turned on, and disconnects the input side lever 52 andthe output side lever 53 when the actuator 54 is turned off.

The actuator 54 is turned on and off by a command from a controller 56.The controller 56 turns off the actuator 54 to release a connectionbetween the inside open handle 19 and the inner lever 21 when a speedsensor 57 detects a running state of a vehicle (practically a runningstate at the speed of more than 4 Km/h). When the connection between theinside open handle 19 and the inner lever 21 is released by running,since the inner lever 21 is not rotated even when the inside open handle19 is operated to open the door, the door is prevented from opening eventhough the one-motion door opening mechanism is added to the latch unit1. Hence, even when the inside open handle 19 is falsely operated whilerunning, the one-motion door open mechanism is not actuated.

When the vehicle stops (actually a stopping state or a running state atthe speed below 4 Km/h), the controller 56 turns on the actuator 54 toconnect the inside open handle 19 and the inner lever 21. This allowsthe one-motion door opening mechanism of the latch unit 1 to be actuatedby the door opening operation of the inside open handle 19 whileparking.

In the control circuit of the clutch mechanism 50, it is possible toprovide a manual operation switch 58 which turns off the actuator 54.The operation switch 58 is preferably disposed in the vicinity of adriver's seat. When the operation switch 58 is turned on, the clutchmechanisms 50 is put into a non-connecting state even while parking, andthe door opening operation of the inside open handle 19 is invalidated.This means that a child proof mechanism is added to the latch unit 1 bythe operation switch 58.

Since the clutch mechanism 50 can release the connection between theinside open handle 19 and the inner lever 21, it is expected that themechanism 50 can bring about improvements of the security performance ofthe door. Hence, in the present invention, when the engine of thevehicle is stopped or a key is not inserted into an ignition switch, theactuator 54 is turned off to disconnect the inside open handle 19 andthe inner lever 21. This allows the door opening operation of the insideopen handle 19 to be invalidated, thereby improving the securityperformance while parking.

Effects of the Invention

The one-motion door opening mechanism according to the present inventioncan be switched over to the effective state and the ineffective state.Hence, the one-motion door opening mechanism can be adapted to the doorlatch device of all the doors, and if safety is ensured at the user'sresponsibility, almost all people can enjoy the convenience of theone-motion door opening mechanism.

Since the clutch mechanism 50 can be provided between the inside openhandle 19 and the inner lever 21, the one-motion door opening mechanismof the door latch device already mounted on the door can be simplyswitched over to a speed sensing type at a later time.

1. A one-motion door opening mechanism for a vehicle door latch devicecomprising: a ratchet lever for opening a vehicle door when rotated; anopen lever being displaced by a door opening rotation of an outside openhandle of the door; a lock lever displaceable between an unlockedposition in which a displacement of the open lever is transmitted to theratchet lever so as to rotate the ratchet lever and an locked positionin which the displacement of the open lever is not transmitted to theratchet lever; a sub-lever being rotated by a door opening rotation ofan inside open handle of the door; and a selector pin displaceablebetween an effective position and a ineffective position; wherein saidratchet lever is constituted so as to be able to return the lock leverlocated in the locked position to the unlocked position when rotated;wherein said selector pin, when located in the effective position,rotates the ratchet lever by a rotation of the sub-lever so that both ofa returning of the lock lever to the unlocked position from the lockedposition and an opening of the vehicle door are made possible; whereinwhen said selector pin is switched to the ineffective position, theselector pin transmits the rotation of the sub-lever to the ratchetlever only through the open lever.
 2. The one-motion door openingmechanism for the vehicle door latch device according to claim 1,wherein the ratchet lever, the open lever and the sub-lever arecoaxially pivoted by a single common shaft.
 3. The one-motion dooropening mechanism for the vehicle door latch device according to claim2, wherein said sub-lever comprises a long hole extending to a radialdirection of the common shaft, and said selector pin is switched over tothe effective position and the ineffective position by sliding withinthe long hole.
 4. The one-motion door opening mechanism for the vehicledoor latch device according to claim 3, wherein said ratchet levercomprises an engaging concave portion which does not engage with theselector pin in the ineffective position, but engages with the selectorpin in the effective position.
 5. The one-motion door opening mechanismfor the vehicle door latch device according to claim 3, wherein saidopen lever comprises the engaging groove which does not engage with theselector pin in the effective position, but engages with the selectorpin in the ineffective position.
 6. The one-motion door openingmechanism for the vehicle door latch device according to claim 1,wherein a clutch mechanism which can releases a connection between theinside open handle and the sub-lever is provided between the inside openhandle and the sub-lever.
 7. The one-motion door opening mechanism forthe vehicle door latch device according to claim 6, wherein, when thevehicle drives, the clutch mechanism release the connection between theinside open handle and the sub-lever.